Language paper 101

CUET English

CUET English (paper 101) has no prescribed textbook. NTA tests two skill areas: reading comprehension, built on factual, narrative and literary passages of up to 300 words, and verbal ability, which covers rearranging sentences, matching words with meanings, choosing the right word and synonyms and antonyms. The official outline says questions are not limited to these topics, so idioms, one-word substitutions and grammar-based word choice also turn up. Success comes from reading the passage before the options, answering only from what the text says, and building vocabulary steadily through daily reading of newspapers and good prose.

2 units
50 questions · 60 min
+5 / −1 marking
Language paper · no prescribed textbook
9,14,653 appeared in 2026

What to study in each unit

Based on the official NTA 2026 syllabus, mapped to skill areas.

Unit	What to study	Skill area
Reading comprehension	Main idea, suitable title and the writer's purpose; separating stated facts from your own assumptions Inference: what the passage implies but does not say outright, and which statements it supports Narrative passages: sequence of events, a character's feelings and motives, and the point of view Literary passages: tone and mood, imagery and figures of speech such as simile, metaphor and personification Vocabulary in context: the meaning a word carries in this passage, not only its dictionary meaning Method: skim for the gist, read the question, then scan back for the exact line that proves the answer Inference Tone Personification Central idea	Reading comprehension
Verbal ability	Rearranging parts: find the opening sentence, then follow time markers (first, then, finally), pronouns and linking words Match the following: words with meanings, idioms with senses, or words with their opposites Choosing the correct word: context clues, commonly confused pairs (affect/effect, principal/principle) and correct spelling Synonyms and antonyms of moderately difficult words; watch for options that are opposites of what is asked Common idioms, phrasal verbs and one-word substitutions Jumbled sentences Synonym Antonym Idiom	Verbal ability

Unit

What to study

Skill area

Reading comprehension

Main idea, suitable title and the writer's purpose; separating stated facts from your own assumptions
Inference: what the passage implies but does not say outright, and which statements it supports
Narrative passages: sequence of events, a character's feelings and motives, and the point of view
Literary passages: tone and mood, imagery and figures of speech such as simile, metaphor and personification
Vocabulary in context: the meaning a word carries in this passage, not only its dictionary meaning
Method: skim for the gist, read the question, then scan back for the exact line that proves the answer

Inference
Tone
Personification
Central idea

Reading comprehension

Verbal ability

Rearranging parts: find the opening sentence, then follow time markers (first, then, finally), pronouns and linking words
Match the following: words with meanings, idioms with senses, or words with their opposites
Choosing the correct word: context clues, commonly confused pairs (affect/effect, principal/principle) and correct spelling
Synonyms and antonyms of moderately difficult words; watch for options that are opposites of what is asked
Common idioms, phrasal verbs and one-word substitutions

Jumbled sentences
Synonym
Antonym
Idiom

Verbal ability

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Official reference: NTA CUET UG 2026 English syllabus (paper 101, English) · Checked 4 Nov 2026 · Read the official PDF (opens in a new tab) · Study notes draw on: NTA CUET (UG) 2026 syllabus: English (101) (opens in a new tab), NTA CUET (UG) 2026 syllabus index (opens in a new tab), NTA CUET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin (opens in a new tab). This is the 2026 syllabus, not a confirmed 2027 syllabus.